Polamalu: Players have good cause, fighting "Big Business"

[_SteeL_CurtaiN_]

Re: Polamalu: Players have good cause, fighting "Big Busines

IMO, Unions are an anachronism for the most part.

I think coal miners and steel workers may disagree with this point considering the decline in federal regulation of safety standards.

[url]http://wvgazette.com/News/201105261234[/url]

[BradshawsHairdresser]

Re: Polamalu: Players have good cause, fighting "Big Busines

Troy Polamalu Wants to Lead a Revolution
by Cory J. Bonini, Managing Editor, KFFL.com

Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu recently provided an unintentionally humorous quote when speaking at the Cedars Sinai Medical Center Sports Spectacular, in Los Angeles.

"It's unfortunate right now. I think what the players are fighting for is something bigger," Polamalu said. "A lot of people think it's millionaires versus billionaires and that's the huge argument."

"The fact is its people fighting against big business. The big business argument is 'I got the money and I got the power therefore I can tell you what to do.' That's life everywhere. I think this is a time when the football players are standing up and saying, 'No, no, no, the people have the power.'"

I'm not taking a side in the labor dispute, but this statement is chock-full of fantasy - and not the kind that pays the bills around here. The NFL's model requires fans, players and owners to harmoniously come together to create the level of wealth involved. This balance has produced billions of dollars for the players and owners, including making a millionaire of Polamalu.

In the real world, if an employee doesn't like the company he/she works for, they always have the option to seek better employment elsewhere, just as Polamalu does. Taking down the big business that is the NFL isn't in his best interest, but I give him credit for his convictions, even if bred through unrealistic idealism.

In a perfect world the people have the power, but the actuality of the situation is that the only power you have as an employee is the right to walk away in search of something better.

The notion he is fighting for the common man is a joke. Nothing about Polamalu's career or annual earnings represents the everyday Joe, but I won't let that get in the way of a feel-good campaign.

He needs to realize that without the successful business the NFL has created, in part because of players like Polamalu, he wouldn't be earning the type of coin he does. See if the CFL or UFL can afford to pay you what you're earning. I know, maybe he will play for the sheer love of the game?

Saying the NFL's money and power allows them to call the shots is 100 percent accurate. That's life everywhere, as Polamalu said ... however, in a totally different sense.

I have a very hard time taking this seriously, coming from such a common man whose hair is insured for $1 million....


[url="http://www.kffl.com/blogs/cb/troy-polamalu/2011/05/#ixzz1Nc2HFbXZ"]http://www.kffl.com/blogs/cb/troy-polam ... z1Nc2HFbXZ[/url]

[Shawn]

Re: Polamalu: Players have good cause, fighting "Big Busines

I'm not sure Troy's salary has anything to do with his ability to represent the working man. I believe it to be relative and principles are principles. I also don't believe Troy to be "big business". We are talking about employee vs employer relationships. This just happens to be on a grander scale. While I'm not buying everything the players are selling, I do understand employees not wanting to be trampled. And, while I understand most here would play for free, I wouldn't be part of that crowd. How much is my body and mind worth to me? If I chose that career, I would want my due pay. And since the players are the league, they should be compensated and treated as such.

[BradshawsHairdresser]

Re: Polamalu: Players have good cause, fighting "Big Busines

I'm not sure Troy's salary has anything to do with his ability to represent the working man.

Troy has very little in common with the working man. Think about it. He plays a game and earns millions of dollars a year doing so. I don't begrudge him the money, and I understand he has worked hard to get where he is at. Still, if he has done any kind of investing at all, he will never have to worry about making ends meet, never have to worry about retirement, never have to worry about putting his kids through school...he's in a far different situation than the average working man.

I believe it to be relative and principles are principles.

How many working men are going to be able to demand that they get 60% of the company's revenues? With any job I've had, if the workers had banded together and demanded that, we would have been laughed at and told we were perfectly free to find a better deal elsewhere.

I also don't believe Troy to be "big business".

When you can market your name (or in his case, your hair) for millions of dollars, I certainly wouldn't call it "little business."

We are talking about employee vs employer relationships. This just happens to be on a grander scale. While I'm not buying everything the players are selling, I do understand employees not wanting to be trampled.

We should all be "trampled" so badly as Troy Polamalu. Even under the owner's new proposal, I can't see how he's being "trampled."

And, while I understand most here would play for free, I wouldn't be part of that crowd. How much is my body and mind worth to me? If I chose that career, I would want my due pay.

I certainly would not play for free, nor would I expect Troy or anyone else to do so. But the players are not enslaved to the NFL (regardless of what Rashard Mendenhall or Adrian Peterson might say). They are free to take their talents elsewhere for whatever compensation they can get. If the players are so terribly unhappy with the NFL, why don't they band together and start up a new league? They certainly have the right to do so, and they should have a lot of capital to invest.

And since the players are the league, they should be compensated and treated as such.

The players are PART of the league. I understand that you can't have a league without players...but neither can you have one without owners.

Look, I'm not terribly sympathetic to either side...but I agree with the author. When Troy Polamalu tries to portray himself as taking up the cause of everyman, fighting the evil giant of Big Business...well....it's just laughable.

[feltdizz]

Re: Polamalu: Players have good cause, fighting "Big Busines

Well this second story provides the evidence I didn't see in the first regarding the common man quote. While I disagree with Troy on that line I don't understand how people don't see the NFL is a real job.

Actors, Singers, entertainers... it looks fun but it's still work. These guys don't show up on Sunday, play a game, and then chill for 6 days. It's work, they just work a job that a chosen few can do.

Saying "they play a game for millions" sounds like jealousy. These guys work hard at their craft, employ trainers, nutritionist, etc and put in work like the rest of us. If they don't show up for film, practice, or meetings they get in trouble just like we do. Go down to Florida and tell Ike and Farrior they aren't working this off season and see what they say about it.

Fans keep saying these guys should be happy to have the jobs they have like they were just plucked off the street. When I was in college I was jealous of the football players and the perks they had. Bub I also spent a decent amount of time partying and relaxing while they were on the field sweating and gettiing pounded on in 100 degree weather. When I was creeping back from the girls dorm at 6am these guys were going to practice.

Don't let the hate and jealousy misguide your thought process. While Troy makes millions, his jersey sales top the league and his work generates 10 times what he makes. Teams aren't paying these guys at a loss... if a guy is making 5 mill a year it's because the business is making much more. So it really is him vs big business. Everyone complains about the players salaries but obviously someone or the industry as a whole is making much more.

People like to point out soldiers, fireman, policeman and such to point out those who make real sacrifices. These guys choose to do these things just like players do and when pay scales are cut or pensions and bargaining are stripped they complain too.

But football isn't important, it's just entertainment. That's true and all but you guys like it enough to post opinions in a forum so it must mean so it means something to you.

One last thing, it's much harder to play professional football then it is to be a fireman, soldier or policeman. I have no idea why people bring those professions up like no NFL players have ever done those things. We all make choices when it comes to our jobs but it doesn't mean we have to shut up and take whatever the boss throws our way if you know your worth something to the company. Sure they can fire you... but if they do the math and value your services they may listen and think twice about it.

[Oviedo]

Re: Polamalu: Players have good cause, fighting "Big Busines

Don't let the hate and jealousy misguide your thought process. While Troy makes millions, his jersey sales top the league and his work generates 10 times what he makes. Teams aren't paying these guys at a loss... if a guy is making 5 mill a year it's because the business is making much more. So it really is him vs big business. Everyone complains about the players salaries but obviously someone or the industry as a whole is making much more.

The same logic should be applied to "billionaire owners" of the NFL or owners of any business. These men have typically taken huge risks throughout their lives to get the resources to own teams. They gambled and took financial or career plunges that others are typically too timid or afraid to take. But many want to classify them in another group because they have more than the players. Just like the players they have worked hard and earned it. But unlike the players they are into the NFL and the prosperity of the game we love for the long term not the short term.

I'll never agree with some who want to characterize this as a labor/worker's rights struggle and want to associate themselves with oppressed player "labor." My only goal is that 10 years from now we have a league that looks like the league we have now and isn't dominated by a few teams with the rest as schedule filler like we see in MLB. I just feel the owners defining the business and setting it up how they want it guarantees that more than the players dictating the outcome.

[Sugar]

Re: Polamalu: Players have good cause, fighting "Big Busines

IMO, Unions are an anachronism for the most part.

I think coal miners and steel workers may disagree with this point considering the decline in federal regulation of safety standards.

[url]http://wvgazette.com/News/201105261234[/url]

I really don't care what they think about it. It's still my opinion. They still have a remedy in the courts in a non-monopolized industry.

As for the NFL, it's been granted certain exemptions that change the rules a bit from normal types of business operations. They don't have competition to keep them honest so it's important that the players be able to do so.

[feltdizz]

Re: Polamalu: Players have good cause, fighting "Big Busines

How would the NFL look like the MLB in 10 years? That is a horrible argument. The Steelers have been to 3 SB's in 6 years. Who is going to stockpile all the talent? Washington? The Pats? The Cowboys?

Football will never be like baseball because other the 32 teams get a chance in the postseason and it's one and done.

Will the Steelers become the Pirates? I seriously doubt it. The Pirates don't suck because of money, they suck because their owners are content with the revenue sharing and bobble head nights that turn a profit. Anyone screaming about the Pirates should look at theDetroit Lions. What's the difference?

Football will never be like the MLB because the MLB is boring. They play 300 games a year so the chances of sellouts every night isn't goin to happen. With 8 home games it's easier to fill stadiums every year. Each game counts so much and that is what makes the NFL so special.

Let's keep it real... how many times have the Browns and Bungles won our division over the last 15 years? Steeler fans should be the last ones screaming about the MLB.

[RuthlessBurgher]

Re: Polamalu: Players have good cause, fighting "Big Busines

Don't let the hate and jealousy misguide your thought process. While Troy makes millions, his jersey sales top the league and his work generates 10 times what he makes. Teams aren't paying these guys at a loss... if a guy is making 5 mill a year it's because the business is making much more. So it really is him vs big business. Everyone complains about the players salaries but obviously someone or the industry as a whole is making much more.

The same logic should be applied to "billionaire owners" of the NFL or owners of any business. These men have typically taken huge risks throughout their lives to get the resources to own teams. They gambled and took financial or career plunges that others are typically too timid or afraid to take. But many want to classify them in another group because they have more than the players. Just like the players they have worked hard and earned it. But unlike the players they are into the NFL and the prosperity of the game we love for the long term not the short term.

I'll never agree with some who want to characterize this as a labor/worker's rights struggle and want to associate themselves with oppressed player "labor." My only goal is that 10 years from now we have a league that looks like the league we have now and isn't dominated by a few teams with the rest as schedule filler like we see in MLB. I just feel the owners defining the business and setting it up how they want it guarantees that more than the players dictating the outcome.

Or their Daddys or Grandpas took those risks, while the current crop just sat on their behinds and collected the inheritance.

[Oviedo]

Re: Polamalu: Players have good cause, fighting "Big Busines

Don't let the hate and jealousy misguide your thought process. While Troy makes millions, his jersey sales top the league and his work generates 10 times what he makes. Teams aren't paying these guys at a loss... if a guy is making 5 mill a year it's because the business is making much more. So it really is him vs big business. Everyone complains about the players salaries but obviously someone or the industry as a whole is making much more.

The same logic should be applied to "billionaire owners" of the NFL or owners of any business. These men have typically taken huge risks throughout their lives to get the resources to own teams. They gambled and took financial or career plunges that others are typically too timid or afraid to take. But many want to classify them in another group because they have more than the players. Just like the players they have worked hard and earned it. But unlike the players they are into the NFL and the prosperity of the game we love for the long term not the short term.

I'll never agree with some who want to characterize this as a labor/worker's rights struggle and want to associate themselves with oppressed player "labor." My only goal is that 10 years from now we have a league that looks like the league we have now and isn't dominated by a few teams with the rest as schedule filler like we see in MLB. I just feel the owners defining the business and setting it up how they want it guarantees that more than the players dictating the outcome.

Or their Daddys or Grandpas took those risks, while the current crop just sat on their behinds and collected the inheritance.

Just like you and the rest of us wish had happened to us.

[feltdizz]

Re: Polamalu: Players have good cause, fighting "Big Busines

Don't let the hate and jealousy misguide your thought process. While Troy makes millions, his jersey sales top the league and his work generates 10 times what he makes. Teams aren't paying these guys at a loss... if a guy is making 5 mill a year it's because the business is making much more. So it really is him vs big business. Everyone complains about the players salaries but obviously someone or the industry as a whole is making much more.

The same logic should be applied to "billionaire owners" of the NFL or owners of any business. These men have typically taken huge risks throughout their lives to get the resources to own teams. They gambled and took financial or career plunges that others are typically too timid or afraid to take. But many want to classify them in another group because they have more than the players. Just like the players they have worked hard and earned it. But unlike the players they are into the NFL and the prosperity of the game we love for the long term not the short term.

I'll never agree with some who want to characterize this as a labor/worker's rights struggle and want to associate themselves with oppressed player "labor." My only goal is that 10 years from now we have a league that looks like the league we have now and isn't dominated by a few teams with the rest as schedule filler like we see in MLB. I just feel the owners defining the business and setting it up how they want it guarantees that more than the players dictating the outcome.

Or their Daddys or Grandpas took those risks, while the current crop just sat on their behinds and collected the inheritance.

Just like you and the rest of us wish had happened to us.

True... but that doesn't make them hard workers who took big risk. It's just makes them lucky to be swimming in their daddy's nutsack.